Conservative party conference: Tories promise technical school for every town

Every town would have a technical school to train a generation of children as builders, plumbers and tradesmen under Tory plans announced by Michael Gove, the Shadow Schools Secretary.

Mr Gove said the party would seek a major expansion of dedicated technical schools, where the curriculum concentrates on vocational training instead of traditional academic subjects.

The Tory plan, unveiled at the Conservative Conference, was attacked by teaching unions, who said it would widen the gap between vocational and academic education, and leave some children marginalised.

Mr Gove said the party would start by funding 12 new technical schools in big cities. They would be run as academies, independent of local authority control and sponsored by businesses and universities.

The schools would offer young apprenticeships, BTECs and City and Guilds, as well as GCSEs and A-levels in "core subjects".

A trust set up by Lord Baker, the former education secretary, would advise Tory ministers on creating more technical schools. The plan, Mr Gove said, would be to have a school "in every area".

Labour has also set out plans to increase technical education, but teachers have opposed the move.

Christine Blower, head of the National Union of Teachers accused the Conservatives of planning to "pigeonhole" children.

She said: "No young person benefits from early differentiation between vocational and academic routes. We need to get rid of that invidious divide."

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers' union in the UK, said: "Segregating vocational courses risks marginalising vocational education and the young people whose talents and skills are best served by this learning pathway.

"The technical schools system seems to illustrate a 'sheep and goat' mentality to classifying pupils. This is no way to manage an inclusive state education system."

Mr Gove insisted that all of his party's policies are focused on narrowing the gap between rich and poor and helping the children of poorer households improve their own circumstances.

Mr Gove said: "The Conservative Party this week is a party that is on a mission, a crusade to deal with the long-standing issues which have kept 20 to 30 per cent of our people in poverty"